Artificial leg



No. 608,812. Patented Aug. 9, |393.

H. wELLEn.

ARTIFICIAL LEG. (Appucaticn med Mar. 29, 189s.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WVM/Lewes adrien ddrains Artnr janien,

HENRY IRVIN VELLR, OF COLUMBUS, OIIIO.

AnTu-lclAL Lne.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,812, dated August 9, 1898.`

Application filed March 29, 1898. Serial No. 675,542. (No model.)

To all whom, t mctyconccrn:

Be it known that I, HENRY IRvIN WELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ooluinbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Legs; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the arttowhich it ap,-

pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the construction vof ankle-joints having universal motion for artiiicial legs.

Its object is to provide a joint having a lateral as well as a forward-and-baekward motion from which is eliminated all extra or superfluous cords or springs-that is to say, a joint which is simply constructed, being composed of few and elemental parts.

It is also desired to produce a joint which operates easily and which possesses the requisite of strength and durability.

The construction and operation of my invention will more fully appear from the detailed description which follows. j

Figure l is a central vertical section of the foot and leg, taken in the direction of the length of the foot. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the leg and foot transverse of the direction of the foot. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the foot through the ball in the center, Fig. a is a view of the bottom of the foot, the felt sole being removed.

The leg A'and the foot B are made of light willow wood or other equivalent material possessing sufficient lightness and strength, and they are of a shape to conform as nearly as possible to that of the natural leg and foot. The back portion of the leg at a point just above the heel is cut in to form a shoulder, the cut extending forward to that portion b corresponding to the tibia of the natural leg.

The lower end of the tibia ext-ends into the foot and is somewhat enlarged, as shown at e, and in the end of this enlarged portion there is provided a socket having a bushing of rawhide for the reception of the round hollow ball h. The foot is provided with a similar .socket and bushing f and g for the reception of the opposite portion of the ball. In addition tothe socket mentioned the lower end of the nextended tibia isprovided near its front and rear edges with hollowed-out spaces elA e, curved to 'the form'of ahalf-1noon or crescent and extending partly around the socket f. The material aroundthe socket in the foot is also slightly hollowed out, as at h h', in directions substantially parallel with the direction of the foot and at right angles to the curved lslots e e in the lower end of the cxtended tibia.

The hollow ball 7L is of aluminium bronze and has a couple of substantially rectangun lar slots vl and fi, the iirst being in the upper and the latter in the lower surface of the ball. The longer dimension of the first is in the di* rection of the length of the foot, while the longer dimension of the latter-that is, the lowerV slot-is transverse of the foot. The ball h is provided with trunnions jjjj, which are situated equidistant around the surface of the ballalong the circumference of a great circle whose plane is horizontal when the leg is vertical. The axes of the trunnions lie in the plane of the circle just referred to and are at right angles to each other, meeting at a point about the center of the ball. One axis extends in the direction of the length of the foot and the other at right angles or transversely of that direction. The trunnions jj, having the latter axis, are journaled in bearings ji j?, provided in the bushing at the lower end of the extended tibia, while the other trunnions j' y", having a direction at right angles to jj-that is, in a direction co incident with that of the length of bushing c inithe foot-are journaled in bearings jj, provided in the foot. The trunnions jjj j are not confined closely to their bearings, but when the foot assumes the various angles necessary in walking they project, respectively, into the slots or hollow spaces ee' and h 72,.

In the bottom of the foot there is a socket k, situated about one-fourth of an inch in front of the bushing g', (in the upper portion of the foot.) This socket 7e receives the cylindrical rubber spring 7o', which is about one and one fourth inches in diameter ,andone and onehalf inches in length and which is providedl centrally with a hole 7a2, which receives one IOO of the threaded ends of a steel rod C, which extends up through the foot, passing through the slots t' and z" in the ball h into the leg, where the other end passes through a cylindrical rubber spring Ze, substantially similar to that just described. Each of the threaded ends of the rod C receive nuts Z Z', and when the rod has been placed in position and the nuts adjusted the leg and foot, as is evident, are securely joined together. The object of placing the socket Zt for the spring k' in front of the bushing g is to secure a greater heel leverage without placing the leg too far forward relatively to the foot.

The heel-cord CZ is made with a loop m at one end, which lits over a lug or projection m in the bottom of the heel. The other end is threaded and extends up through the heel into the hollow leg, where it passes through a cross-piece a and receives a nut a, by means of which the cord may be secured in position and its tension regulated.

The toe portion of the foot, which should have more or less flexibility, consists of a somewhat thickened piece of felt material O and'having the proper size and shape and which is bent or folded at its center upon itself, so that the inner faces of the two sections o and o2 are parallel to each other.

Inelosed within the fold of the felt toe-piece just mentioned is a piece of leather O3, which is bent at its center in the same manner as the felt material by which it is inclosed. It is thickened at its center and tapers toward the edges of its two ends-that is, toward the toe of the foot. t The bent or curved portion ofv the felt toe-piece fits into a concaved or hollowed space p in the forward end of the wooden foot B, to which the toe-piece is attached by means of a T-bolt p', passing back through the foot and receiving a nut p2. An additional flexibility is given to the toe by means of a fiat metallic spring q, which is fastened to the wooden foot and extends forward and rests against the bottom of the toe-piece O and against the top surface of the front portion of a felted sole q', which extends along the entire length of the foot. The felted sole prevents any unnecessary jarring sensation which might be occasioned by walking or moving about.

As pointed out above, the lower end of the rod C is normally in a vertical plane in advance of the vertical plane of the upper end of said rod; but it will be seen that the rod C lies entirely within the vertical planes of the ball Zz.

One of the great objections incident to those attempts heretofore made to provide a balland-socket joint between the leg-section and the foot-section of an artificial limb with which I am acquainted has been that as the connecting devices, such as the'rod C herein, were arranged outside of the ball they were constantly subjected to friction and rapidly destroyed. By my construction, however,

no contact directly with either the foot-section or the leg-section.

As shown in the drawings, the nuts Z Z are made tapering in form and fit snugly within correspondingly-shaped passages formed in the spring-blocks Zt" 7.53. By this arrangement it will be seen that whenever the legsection is moved relatively to the foot-section the spring-block 7c', for example, will be compressed both longitudinally and laterally and will strongly assist in returning the parts to their normal position upon the cessation of the power which caused such movement of the leg-section. By means of the nuts Z Zl the tension of the springs 7c 7e3 can be readily controlled and varied and the rod C always held in proper position vertically relative to the leg-section and the foot-section.

As I have above described and as will be apparent from the drawings, I have provided a ball-and-socket joint between the leg-section and the foot-section, and it will also be noted that I have provided means whereby a positive limit is placed upon lateral or horizontal movement of the foot-section relative to the leg-section, the lack of which has, as I believe, prevented the successful use of this style .of joint heretofore in articles of this nature. Vhile the trunnions j j' do not at all interfere with the desired freedom of motion of the ball ZL, they do prevent the foot-section from swin gin g laterallybeyon da certain limit.

I have above described that the tension of the heel-cord CZ may be varied. For acconr plishing this and maintaing the tension on such cord I at present prefer to employ the following means: The nut n', which engages with the externally-threaded tube or sleeve R, is provided with a series of peripheral notches or recesses n2. The sleeve R extends some distance above the nut n', and the filaments of the cord CZ are suitably expanded and secured above the upper end of such sleeve to form a firm Connection therewith.

Sdesignates a locking-bar, which is pro` vided at one end with an internally-threaded passage adapted to engage with the threads on the sleeve R. Near the outer end the bar S is provided with an aperture s, adapted to aline with the recesses or sockets n2 in the nut n. By means of a screw T, passing through said aperture s and any one of the peripheral notches in the nut n', the latter is held from rotation on the sleeve R and rigidly secured to the cross-piece n.

What I claim is l. In an artificial ankle-joint, the eombination of a leg A provided in its lower end with a socket and bushing; a foot B provided with a socket and bushing, said sockets being opposite to each other and adapted to receive a hollow metallic ball having a substantially rectangular slot in its upper surface and a similar slot in its lower surface, the longest dimension of the first being in the direction of the length of the foot and that of the latthe rod C is relieved of all wear, it having ter being at right angles to that direction; a

IOO

IIO

steel rod adapted to receive a nut at each end, and extending from a point in the leg through the aforesaid slots and. through a rubber spring in the bottom of the footsaid spring being one-fourth of an inch in front of the aforesaid bushing in the foot, substantially as set forth and described.

In an artificial leg, the combination of a foot-section, a leg-section, aball vfitted in sockets formed in said foot-section and leg-section, and a rod extending through said ball and having one end connected to the leg member and its other end connected to the foot member, substantially as set forth.

3. In an artificial leg, the combination of a foot-section, a leg-section, an elastic or yielding connection betiveen the rear portion of the foot-section and the leg-section, a rod connecting said footsection and leg-section, and a ball-and-socliet joint connecting said sections in advance of the said yielding connection, the ball of said joint being fitted loosely about said rod, substantially as set forth.

4. In an articial leg, the combination of a footsection, a leg-section, a ball arranged between said leg-section and foot-section, a stiff rod extending loosely through a passage in said ball and having. one end connected to the leg-section and its other end connected to the foot-section, a yielding connection between the rear portion of the foot-section and the leg-section, and means for positivelylimiting the motion of the foot-section laterally of the leg-section, substantially as set forth.

5. In an artiiicial leg, the combination of a foot-section, a leg-section, a bushing secured in a socket in the foot-section, a bushing secured in a socket in the leg-section, a ball provided With laterally-projecting trunnions engaging bearings formed in both said bushings, a rod extending through said ball and having one end-secured in the leg-section and its other end secured in the foot-section, and a yielding connection, supplemental to said rod, between the foot-section and the leg-section, substantially as set forth.

6. In an artificial leg, the combination of a foot-section, a leg-section, connected to the foot-section by a ball-andsocket joint, and a rod extending through said joint and having one end connected to the leg-section and its other end connected to the foot-section, the point of connection of said rod with the foot-s section being in a vertical plane in advance of the vertical plane of the connection of said rod with the leg-section when the parts are in their normal position, substantially as set forth.

7. In an artificial leg, the combination of a foot-section, a leg-section, a ball-and-socket joint connecting said sections, and a rod having one end secured in the leg-section and its other end secured in the foot-section, said rod extending forwardly from its upper to its lower end, and both ends of said rod lying Within the vertical planes of the ball-andsocket joint connecting said foot-section and leg-section, substantially as set forth.

8. In an artificial leg the combination with afoot-section, of ayielding toe-section formed of a piece of felt or similar material bent upon itself and having its closed end inserted in a socket in the footsection, a bolt having an expanded head fitted between the sections of said toe-piece and its body connected to the foot-section, and a supplemental Wearingstrip placed between the head of said bolt and said toe-piece, substantially as set forth.

9. In an artificial leg, the combination of a 4foot-section, a leg-section, a yielding or flexible cord having its lower end connected to the footsection and its upper end connected to a sleeve-support Within the leg-section, a nut for adjusting said sleeve vertically, and a lock-arm for rigidly connecting said nut to the leg-section, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature` in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY IRVIN VVELLER. Witnesses:

FRED II. CROUGHTON, WM. D. KAIL. 

